CPT Colombia partners with Justapaz, a ministry of the Mennonite Church Colombia, and asks that CPT constituents respond to the following Urgent Action on behalf of three displaced communities, two of which—Las Pavas and El Garzal—CPT Colombia accompanies.

Dear Sisters and Brothers,

May the peace-giving gospel of Jesus Christ continue to guide your lives on the paths of justice and peace.  One of the primary factors contributing to the violent armed conflict in Colombia is the forced dispossession (despojo)[1] of land faced by peasants.  Representatives from Justapaz and the CEDECOL Peace Commission have been witness to three emblematic cases of dispossession that are at a critical juncture.  Illegal armed groups present in the areas of Córdoba, Las Pavas, and El Garzal have put residents  at risk of losing their land, and even put their lives in danger; these armed groups oppose any efforts put forth by the communities to keep their land.  The level of risk in these communities is exacerbated by the ineffective response of government authorities to these threats.

We ask you to take urgent action on behalf of the following three cases:

On 17 April 2011, Palm Sunday, Christian Peacemaker Teams invites churches to pray and act in solidarity with Colombians displaced by oil palm plantations.

CPT Colombia offers resources for worship, action, and prayer that allow worshipers to hear echoes of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem—and the events that soon followed—in the lives, struggles and deaths of people affected by Oil Palm and other industries that unjustly continue to remove them from their lands in Colombia and elsewhere.

Dear friends of justice,

The time has come to act in support of the displaced Colombian community of Las Pavas.

After almost two years of displacement, the community has decided to take the courageous step of returning to their land within the next week.  They are asking for your support during this risky time.

Please click here to sign a petition showing your solidarity with the community of Las Pavas.  

Lenten greetings from CPT Colombia.  As we enter this season approaching the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ, we want to make sure you are aware of two special opportunities for your faith community in the coming weeks.  April 10-11 are Days of Prayer and Action for Colombia, during which congregations in the United States, Canada and Colombia will pray for an end to the Colombian conflict and act for policy changes that better reflect the values of God's kingdom.  Worship, advocacy and other resources are available at our website.   

Join CPT Colombia members in accompanying FEDEAGROMISBOL, a federation of subsistence miners and small farmers in the Southern Bolivar province.  Learn how those in power regard the presence of small-scale miners and campesinos in a resource-rich part of Colombia to be a barrier to economic development by large corporate interests.  

Understand how international mining corporations and large-scale palm oil projects are a root cause of the Colombian conflict and forced displacement.  Meet communities that continue to struggle for their territory, culture, and protection of the environment.  Delegates will also visit organizations in Barrancabermeja, the industrial city in the Magdalena Medio region where CPT's full-time team has been based since 2001.

In a 28 October 2010 press release, Daabon Organics announced that it will end its oil palm operations in Las Pavas.  Over a month later, however, their workers continue plantation activities on the land.

The announcement came four weeks after cosmetics retailer The Body Shop announced it would stop buying palm oil from Daabon. An article in Colombia's El Espectador quoted a Daabon official as saying "activists in front of Body Shop outlets in Chicago" contributed to that earlier decision.

CPT Colombia joins with displaced farmers from Las Pavas in cautious celebration of Daabon's announcement, expressing gratitude to all who helped foster this development and seeking continuing action to disrupt ongoing social and environmental harm resulting from internationally financed oil palm plantations.

On 7 August, Juan Manuel Santos replaced Alvaro Uribe Velez as president of Colombia.  From 2006 to 2009 Santos held the position of Minister of Defense in Uribe's government.  He is seen by some as a brilliant strategist, because he was at the helm when the army killed one of the highest-ranking commanders of the FARC (Colombia's largest insurgency group) and rescued fifteen high-profile hostages. He is seen by others as a gruesome killer. While defense minister, media networks broke the story of the "False Positives" scandal in which Colombia's armed forces killed more than 2000 civilians and claimed they were enemies killed in combat to get financial and other rewards.

From 8 to 12 October 2010 at the National University of Colombia in Bogotá, various social sectors of Colombia met to inaugurate the People's Congress. Christian Peacemaker Teams Colombia was present at the Congress, accompanying the community processes from the Middle Magdalena region.

During the four days, subsistence farmers', grassroots, indigenous, miners' students', LGBTQ women's, and conscientious objectors' groups from around the country came together to form proposals for how "... people plan the territory, economy and way of governing."

Almost a year has past since the campaign to pressure The Body Shop to publicly end its business relationship with Daabon began.  Last week, The Body Shop announced on its website, “…since a systemic and long-lasting solution is no nearer to being reached despite our engagement, The Body Shop has formally terminated its trading relationship with Daabon.”  (See http://www.thebodyshop.com/_en/_ww/services/pdfs/AboutUs/Sourcing_Palm_Oil.pdf)  

Each year, the United States Secretary of State must certify that Colombia is meeting the human rights conditions required for the disbursement of U.S. military aid.

Since Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last issued the certification in September 2009, Colombian security forces continue to commit human rights violations, in some cases with illegal paramilitary collaboration, a clear breach in the conditions of U.S. military aid to Colombia.  Another breach is the failure to investigate and prosecute members of the armed forces responsible for extrajudicial executions, or “false positives.”  These examples demonstrate that Colombia has not met the requirements or has taken a significant step backwards.